Safety-clamp for rails.



No. 760,737. I I

; 1m MODEL.

' PATBNTED MAY 24, 1904.

12a; HARLEMAN.

SAFETY GLAMBFOR RAILS.

APPLIOATIOR Mum MAR. 28'. 1904.

' UNITED. STATES I allwhowi, it may concern.-

H jindicating a block system of railwaysignals I Patented May 24, 190 1THOMAS J. HARLEMAN, 0F PAGKERTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY-CLAMP oe RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 760,737, datedMay 24,1904. .x timsm filcdlfviarch 28,1904. 's lriniiazoosao. (No model.)

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. HARLEMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Packerton, Oarbon' county, State of Pennsyl Vania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Clamps for Rails,of

which'the following is a specification;

Myinvention relates to portable safety rail connectors orclamps, and ithas for its object to provide a simple, cheap, and efficientdevicewhereby the rails of a railway-track can be quickly and effectivelyelectrically con.- nccted, so as to cause the operation of the safetysignal devices; and to these ends my 'invention consists in a portableconnector embodying the general features of construction 7 and.arrangement of parts and adapted for use in the manner and accomplishingthe results substantially as hereinafter more particularly 'set forth.

v Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein I have 'lllustratedapreferred embodiment of my lnventlomFlgure 1 1s adiagram v0f any desiredconstruction and arrangement and showing one manner of usingv the inven:

, of clamps I tion. Fig. 2, is aside view of a portable safety-clampapplied to the rails. Fig; 3 is a plan View thereof, and Fig. 4 is vanenlarged perspectiveview showing the preferred form A great manyrailroads have equipped their lines with what are generally known asautomatic signals, where, among other things, the signals areautomatically operated by a passing train, which train forms a part ofan electric circuit controlling the vmovements of the signals, It isunnecessary to attempt here to describe the many and various signalingsystems in use; but many, if not most of them,

embodywhat is known" as the block system, in which the track isconnected to form blocks or sections in Which the rails are a part ofthe electric circuit controlling the signals, so that the signals areeither automatically operated by the train or their manual operation isprevented while the train is in anyparticular block or section. Whilethese systems are very effective, still they are liable to fail to"operate and do not accomplish signals will be properly operated.- a

While at their Work.

the desired results in allconditions; and-it is the object ofmypresentinvention towprovide a device which can be used inconjunctionwith such signal systems and which will tend to insure their operationas Well as to supply deficiencies in them usual arrangements, so

that 1n cases of emergency and otherwise the It is unneces'saryto setforth all the conditions under .which my improved safety connector or.clamp is effective; but to illustrate it may be assumedthat for somereason a train has stopped shortly after it has entered a block, andit'is usual to send a fiagman to signal to protect the rear of thetrain, and

by attachingthis clamp to the adjacent end of the next block to the rearthe danger-signals-will be immediately set to control that a block andpossibly the block before it and the clamp to said track and instantlyoperate the signals to indicate danger and protect-the train. So, too,roadmen working on the track can connect the rails, and thereby protectthe coming train, as well as protectth'emselves These instances show tothose skilled in the art the general application andutility of mypresent invention, and I will now proceed to describe the preferredconstruction and embodiment thereof.

The portable safety connector or clamp comprises a bar or. body portionA, which is adapted to extend practically between the rails of a trackor way, and this body portion is provided with some suitable means "ateach end by which it can be quickly connected or attached to the railsin a substantial manner,

so as tofurnish a good electrical connection therewith, and while theform and details of construction of the clamp may vary I have shown asimple and effective form comprising a fixed jaw B and a movable jaw Cand adjusting devices D for operating the jaws. The body portion mayalso be provided with a handle, as a, or other means by which it can bereadily manipulated.

It is desirable, of course, to get good electrical connection betweenthe rails, and as the tops of the rails are usually in a bright cleancondition it is desirable to make contact with the rails at their topsurfaces, as well as other portions, and so the jaws B are preferably ofsuch a shape and construction as to rest on the top'of the rails, andthe movablejaws are arranged to engage some other portion of the railand clampor secure the connector in position. The body of the connectormay be of conducting material or, preferably, may be of non-conductingmaterial, as indicated in Fig. 2, and the jaws B B are connectedelectrically,

as by a conductor E, and this conductor is ex' tended'so as to form agood contact-surface with the rails and may be secured to the under sideof the jaws B, as indicated at 6, this portion of the conductor ofcourse being bare, while the body of the conductor may be insulated.Thus in the present instance the jaws C are pivotally connected to thebody portion at the point 0 and are so shaped as to engage the underportion of the head of the rail, and there is arod or pin cipassingthrough the movable jaw and the stationary jaw and provided with acam-shaped head d, and there may be an operating-handle, as (P,extending through the head. i It will be seen that with thisconstruction the jaws can be quickly opened or closed by simply turningthe head a portion of a circle, and the connector can be quickly andsecurely clamped to the adjacent rails. It is evident that otherequivalent clamping means may be used; but that illustrated has provento be effective. and satisfactory, and the whole apparatus is light andportable and can readily be manipulated and produce the desired effects.

In Fig. 1 I have indicateddiagrammatically some sort of a signalingdevice, but have not attempted to show the circuits and particularoperating mechanism, as these will vary according to the character ofthe system used, and it is only necessary to say that when the clamp orconnector is placed in position between the rails, as indicated at w,the circuits of the signal or signals YY' will be controlled oroperated, so that the signals will be placed or held in danger orcaution position, and thereby protect the portion of the track to whichthe connector is applied in the manner well understood.

The body portion, as above indicated, may be provided with a handle, as(1 and this handle may be used as a socket for a fiagstalf with flagattached or for a support for a lantern or other signal device in thenight-time, and by this means an additional signal or safeguard is addedin connection with the use of the device.

Having thus described the general features of construction and indicatedthe mode of operation of my device, what I claim is- 1. A portablesafety rail-connector adapted to electrically connect the rails,comprising a body portion provided with clamps adapted to engage therails, substantially as described.

2. A portable safety rail-connector adapted to electrically connect therails, comprising a rigid body portion provided with jaws at its ends,and adjusting devices for operating the jaws and securing them to theheads of the rails, substantially as described.

3. A portable safety rail-connector adapted to electrically connect therails, comprising a body portion having jaws at its ends, means foradjusting the jaws to clamp the heads of the rails, and a conductorconnecting the jaws, substantially as described.

4. A portable safety rail-connector adapted to electrically connect therails, comprising a body portion having jaws at its ends, means foradjusting the jaws to clamp the heads of the rails, and a conductorconnecting the jaws having exposed portions arranged on the bearingsides of the jaws, substantially as described.

5. A portable safety rail-connector adapted to electrically connect therails, comprising a bar having fixed jaws at its ends, movable jawspivotally connected at its ends, pins passing through the jaws,cam-shaped heads on the pins, and a conductor having exposed portions onthe under side of the fixed jaws, substantially as described. P

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS J. HARLEMAN.

Witnesses:

IsAAc MoKEEveR, WURZEL SCHNEIDER.

